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Anomaly Research Centre:Exclusives/Gillian Horvath Interview
ZEM got in contact with Gillian Horvath for an interview, (special thanks to Crystal Braunwarth). Gillian Horvath is Head Writer/Showrunner/Executive Producer for New World. Thank you very much Gillian for your patience and answers to my questions! ---- being interviewed about New World. Photo courtesy of Omni Film.]] ---- 1. How did you get involved in Primeval: New World? While the show was in development last year, I wrote one of the 4 scripts in the development package. When the show was given the green light to go into production, I was asked to come on board as head writer and co-showrunner. 2. Were you familiar with Primeval, prior to your involvement in New World? Absolutely! I watched the series from the start on BBC America (I was living in Los Angeles at the time), and I was really impressed by the Dodo episode -- it surprised me, and that's not easy to do. After that, I was hooked. I was watching just for fun -- since it was a British show, I had no idea I'd ever have reason to think of it with my professional brain. Our series is set in the same world as the original series, but doesn't pick up their storylines directly. In fact, at the time we were in development, the 5th season hadn't aired yet, and I didn't see those episodes until they aired on the SPACE Channel. 3. How is Primeval: New World different from your previous work? When you're part of a TV writing staff, a big part of the job is coming up with ideas, just all the time, they can be crazy, half-formed ideas, or whole pitches, you're just constantly coming up with things to throw at the wall, and you know that only some of them are going to stick. When you're the head writer, you spend a lot more time judging, choosing, making those calls about which direction to go. You have to change gears really often between being wildly imaginative, open to all possibilities... and then putting on the producer hat and considering what you're really able to accomplish, what's going to work in the long term.... Something can sound great when you first hear it, but then it takes you down a road that's going to turn into a dead end, you have to try and see that coming.... 4. Which episodes of New World did you write? As the Head Writer, I supervised the stories for all the episodes, and our writing staff (Peter Hume, Jon Cooksey, and Katherine Collins) work very collaboratvely, so I would say that each of us has something in every episode! The episodes that I have primary writing credit on are 104 "Angry Birds," 108 "Truth," and, along with Katherine Collins, the season finale episode. 5. What is the best thing about writing New World? When you have a strong cast, you can write really challenging material, and know that they are going to deliver a really strong version of it. Niall and Sara are these total action heroes, and yet they're both so willing and able to show vulnerability, to reveal their hearts, that we could really plumb those depths as the season went on. Danny and Crystal have this wonderful flirtatious chemistry that made it so fun to write the prickly banter between them. And Miranda and Geoff... honestly, you just have to see those two play together. Watching dailies in the writer's room usually has us chortling with glee. 6. Were there any particular challenges in writing for New World? We spent a lot of time going on location, and tailoring the scripts to those unique locations. That meant a lot of rethinking and rewriting the action, often very close to filming, when we were able to nail down each specific location. My original draft of Angry Birds, for instance, was set in a suburban subdivision -- not in an abandoned trainyard. The trainyard is a great location, it was worth the extra effort, but that is definitely different from my last show -- Sanctuary was shot 90% in the studio, so you had a pretty good idea of the layout before you ever started writing. The fun part of all that location shooting is getting access to places that are usually off-limits -- at the trainyard, at the Britannia mines, backstage at Thunderbird Arena -- and of course it looks great on screen. 7. Can you tease us a little bit with what we have to look forward to in New World? Our team is going to face some significant failures as well as some triumphs over the course of the season, and we'll see them grow from the newbies they start out as, into the confident veterans of the season finale (which is filming right now). I think it's really sexy to see strong characters handle regret and frustration. 8. Your favorite New World character? No way am I going to pick among our 6 leads. They are all amazing! My favorite guest character is probably Howard Kanan (Colin Ferguson) or Colonel Hall (Louis Ferreira). 9. Your favorite New World creature? The Triceratops! I mean, who doesn't love a Triceratops?! Judy & Gar (Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens, who wrote 3 episodes including the pilot) nicknamed him "Spiky", and it stuck. 10. Your favorite New World episode? 108, "Truth." It's such a tension-filled, emotional episode. Amanda Tapping directed it beautifully, and Niall Matter did amazing, brave work... the whole cast really stepped it up that week. ---- :Note: All opinions expressed in interviews belong solely to the crew or cast member interviewed, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of ZEM, Primeval Wiki or Omni Film Productions. Category:Primeval Wiki Exclusives